FIFA World Cup draw: 5 things to know

Watch Friday's draw on CBCSports.ca at 11 a.m. ET

Workers stand on the stage where soccer's World Cup draw will take place in Costa do Sauipe, Brazil, on Friday at 11 a.m. ET. It will be streamed live at CBCSports.ca. (Victor R. Caivano/Associated Press)

Related Stories

Three matches in tropical beach resort cities; Staying in the cooler south with minimal travel between matches; flying around the vast country with a trip deep into the Amazon in the middle.

Ahead of the World Cup draw on Friday, the match schedule slots awaiting the 32 teams, and their fans, are already known and some are clearly more desirable than others.

Here are some of the ups and downs for the teams, many of whom have already chosen their training base camp irrespective of where the draw puts them:

Tough opening

As if facing Brazil in the tournament's opening match in Sao Paulo is not tough enough, that country will then face one of the most grueling travel schedules. Next up is an afternoon match in Manaus, almost 3,900 kilometres from Sao Paulo. The third fixture is a further 4,500 km east in the coastal city of Recife.

This fate awaits whichever of Brazil's three group rivals is drawn into position A2 in the schedule. And if that same team finishes runner-up to Brazil, its second-round match will be a 1 p.m. kickoff in the steamy heat of Fortaleza.

East Coast drag

Even seeded teams can get a difficult shake in this often-criticized World Cup schedule, which takes in the maximum 12 host cities allowed with long travel times across the vast nation.

The seed drawn into Group D will ping up and down the country from Fortaleza to Sao Paulo, 3,000 km down the east coast, then almost the same distance back up to Natal for a closing match in the 1 p.m. heat.

For a European seed such as Belgium or Switzerland, this slot shapes up as one worth avoiding.

Heat is on

Staying in that group, the team allocated position D4 is the only one of the 32 that will have back-to-back matches kicking off at lunchtime in the tropics. Oh, and its first match is scheduled in Manaus as the Saturday night late show that kicks off at 3 a.m. Central European Time. That late slot was required because opening day, June 12, has only the Brazil match instead of the two games scheduled at the 2010 World Cup.

Deep South

It's not all steamy heat and long-haul travel, at least not for the lucky seed in Group H. This is perhaps the best slot in the entire draw.

Three matches in temperate southern cities - Belo Horizonte, Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo - with trips of fewer than 500 kilometres between each. In fact, the whole six-match Group H schedule stays in the south, with no matches in Manaus or the north-eastern beach cities.

In addition, finishing runner-up in Group H will earn an extended stay in the south, with a second-round match in Porto Alegre.

Beach boys

The Group G seed will have perhaps the happiest fans. They get to stay by the Atlantic Ocean for the whole group program with games in Salvador, Fortaleza and Recife, a nice round trip around north-eastern coast.

The flip side for the players is that the first and third games kick off at 1 p.m.

Salvador also offers a warm welcome for this team in the second round if it finishes runner-up in the group.

To encourage thoughtful and respectful conversations, first and last names will appear with each submission to CBC/Radio-Canada's online communities (except in children and youth-oriented communities). Pseudonyms will no longer be permitted.

By submitting a comment, you accept that CBC has the right to reproduce and publish that comment in whole or in part, in any manner CBC chooses. Please note that CBC does not endorse the opinions expressed in comments. Comments on this story are moderated according to our Submission Guidelines. Comments are welcome while open. We reserve the right to close comments at any time.

Note: The CBC does not necessarily endorse any of the views posted. By submitting your comments, you acknowledge that CBC has the right to reproduce, broadcast and publicize those comments or any part thereof in any manner whatsoever. Please note that comments are moderated and published according to our submission guidelines.